Monorail frog



"Maia 25,1924. 1,488,443

' Y W.'SCHWIER MONORAIL FROG Filed July 18, 1923 2 sheets sheet 1 March 25, 1924. v 1,488,443

' W. SCHWIER MONORAIL FROG Filgd July 1a, 1923 2 Sheet-Sheet '2 wile)" Patented Mar. 25, 1924.

U NZTED ST E S" insane- WILLIAM SCHWI'ER, OF SEATTLE, VIASHINGTON.

MONORAIL FROG.

Application filed July 18, 1923; Serial No. 6525385.

To all whom it may concern:

.Be it known that WILLIAM SGHWIER, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Seattle, in the county of King and State of V'ashington, has invented new. and. useful Improvements in Monorail Frogs, of whlch' the following is a specification.

In amonorail frog,the-invention hasfor. its purpose to provide a fulcrumed monorail and simple and improved means operatively connecting with the opposite ends of the monorail, in conjunction with means connecting with the switch points to insure simultaneous operation of the monorail and the switch points.

Another purpose is to provide a device of this kind embodying improvements over' the construction'of monorail frog set forth, illustrated and claimed in the patent to lVilliam Schwier, issued April 3, 1923, Pat ent No. 1,450,758, and like in thispatent, the present invention aims to provide a continuous rail tread surface in passing into andout of a siding. to. avoid the gap or inter-- val: ordinarily required to provide a passage for the wheel flange.

Still another purpose is to provide a monorail frog with means to lock it in alining register either with the main rail or the siding rail.

A further purpose is to provideineans for automatically releasing the 100]: member prior to moving the monorail frog in order to permit the frog to. be moved in alining register with either the main rail or the siding rail.

It is to be understood that the particulars herein given are in no way limitative' and that, while still keeping within the scope of the invention, any desired modifications of detail and desired proportions may be made:

in the apparatus according to the circumstances. v

The invention comprlses further features and combinations of parts to be'hereinafter set forth, shown -in the drawings and claimed.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a section of track showing the main rails and siding rails, the switch points and. the .monorail frog constructed in accordance with the invention,

Figure 2 is a plan view showingono of the p main rails; and oneof the sidingrails with the frog rail in alining register with: the

main rails. Figure 8 1s a plan with the sections of the siding rail.-

Figure 4 is a sectional view on line 4+4 of Figure 2. V

; Figure 5 is a pl'anview of: one-end of the base or bed plate which operatively sn p ports the frog rail.

lf -igure- 6 is a perspective View of one of the frog rail shlftmg rods; s

or shaped withdepressions orarches 8 which" straddle the ties andiact to prevent not only movement of the base or bed plate but also creeping of the ties.

is caused to beformed with countersinks 9' which assume mtervenmgpos tmnsrelative to. the-ties.

' aar erries; I g

viewsimilar to: Figure. 2, sliowlng; the frog rail in alinlngtreglster ii igure 7 discloses views of thev frog rail- SLlPPOltlng chalr and a'lockmember which v In providing these arches or depressions 8-, the base or 'bed' plate,

In other words,.' the counter sinks 9 engage betweenxthc ties as shown.

A chair lO constructed for the support of the frog rail 11'- is provided. This chair is" of a shape in cross section to conform to and receive the web and baseof the frog; rail, there being a bolt 12' passing through a the upstanding flanges of= tliechair and the web. ofthe frog rail with a nut 1am hold"- the chair to the frog rail. The-under face of thechair has a downwardly protruding" threadedstud l iwhiclr passes through an opening 15in the center of the'base or bed;

plate for the purpose of fulcruming the chair and, since the frog rail: issupported therein, said railis fulcrumlymounted; A; collar 16' is mounted uponthestud 14: and

is interposedbetween the base or bed plate and; the under surface of the chair sons to:

IOU

the chairs 23 and 2a are permitted to have frog rail operating bars or rods 20 are' mounted. Each bar or red has an elongated loop 21 and cam lugs 22. The opposite ends of the frog rail are supported in rail chairs 23 and 2st. The rail chair 23 is located adjacent one end'of the base or bed plate while the chair 2 l-is adjacent the opposite end. The chairs and. 24-, like the chair 10, are shaped in cross section to conform to and receive the base and web'of the frog. rail. However, the upstanding flanges of the chairs 23 and are not secured to the web of the frog rail, therefore, if necessary,

slight movements longitudinally of the frog rail in order to avoid any undue binding 7 of the moving parts.

Projecting downwardly from. the under surfaces of the chairs 23 and 24 are studs.

25 on which sleeve rollers 26 are journaled. Plate washers 27 are also mounted upon the studs adjacent the opposite ends of the sleeve rollers, there being nuts 28 threaded on reduced extensions 29 of the studs. The sleeve rollers 26 assume positions in the elongated slots or loops 21 of the operating bars and when the bars 20 are reciprocated, one in one direction and the other in the opposite direction, certain of the ends of the slots or loops 21 abut the sleeve rollers 26 and shift the frog rail. T be lower plate washers .27 engage the under walls of the sides of the loops 21 while the upper'plate washers 27 engage with the upper face of certain of the counter-sinks in the bed or base plate.

The sleeve rollers also engage through the arcuate slots 30 which are formed in certain of the countersinks of the base orbed plate. The slots 30 are concentric with the fulcrum of the frograil. The cam lugs 22 of the operating reciprocating bars also protrude through the arcuate slots 30 and are designed for the purpose of actuating the pivotedlocking devices 31. The locking devices comprise the bodies 32, certain of which engage'with the upper surfaces of certain of the countersinks in the bed plate when the frog rail is in'one position'while. the others engage with diagonally opposite portions of the upper surfaces ofsaid countersinks when the frog rail is in a reverse position. In other words, diagonally opposite looks engage with the upper surfaces of certain of the countersinks when the frog rail is in alining register with the sections of the main rail and when the frog rail is in alining register with the sections of the sienig rail, the other diagonally opposite locks en a e with the u 3 oer surfaces of the same counter-sinks.

Pro ecting from the bodies 32 of the locks are arms 33 which are fulcrumed upon bolts .34 which are mounted in cars 35 projecting main rail, as in Figure 2, certain diagonal locks 31 abut the abutment plates 36 and 39, retaining the frog rail in such position and preventing the rail from being returned in aligning register with thesectio'ns *ofthe.

siding rail. r g

It will be noted that suitable bolts 40 are used for holding the adjacent siding rail sections and the main rail sections in positions in engagement with spacing plates 41 which are formed in the usual manner to conform' to the contour of' the webs and bases of the rails. By thebolts 40 and the spacing plates ll, the siding rail and main rail sections, are held in relatively rigid positions. T 0 further secure and hold "such rail sections in place, rail retaining plates 42 are secured to the upper surface of the bed or base plate and are constructed to overlie the bases of such rail sections. These rail holding or retaining plates-42" are disposed in order to constitute abutments for the ends of the frog rail seam when the frog rail is held against fulcruiningmovement in the direction of the abutments 36 and 39, certain diagonal rail retaining-or holding plates'si2 will prevent 'movement of the frog rail in the opposite direction. The

'same thing is true of the other diagonal 'in alining register with the sections'of the .liii) retaining and holding plates 42, thatis,

when the frog rail is in aliningregister with the sections of the siding rail as in Figure 3. lVhen the frog rail is in the position shown in Figure3, certain diagonal locks 31 engage theabutments 37 and 38,

thereby preventing movement of the frog ,railin the direction of such abutments,

that is, until the abutments are raised'or tilted upon their fulcrums.

In order that the frog rail may move,

it is necessary to reciprocate the bars 20, one in one direction, the other inthe op posite direction. These/bars 20 have "a slight movement to raise the locks without effecting any action upon the'frog rail. In order to effect a raising action'of thelocks. the inclined edges or faces of certaindiagonally opposite cam lugs 22 will ride or cam upon the inclined or cam bottoms 43 of the notches formed on the under surfaces of the looks, as in Figure 4, and there-- byraise certain diagonal locks out of engagement with the abutments 86 and 39. To efl'ect this movement, theoperating bars 20 are moved in the direction of the arrows a in Figure 2. To move the frog rail from the position shown in Figure 3 to that shown in Figure 2, it is necessary to move the bars 20 i i-the direction of the arrows Z) in l igure 3 which will raise the looks out of engagement with'the abutments 37 and'38, rlust when the locks are free of the abutments. whether the frog raii is moved in one direction or the other. or a very short timeafter freeing the locks of the abutments, one of the ends of the slot or loop 21 engages the sleeve roller 26, thereby imparting movement to the frog rail.

The operating bars or rods are in sections 44; and L5 united by the turn-buckles 46 for the purpose of lengthening or shortening the bars to permit the frog rail to be properly positioned'so that it will register with the siding or-main' rail sections. A bar or plate i? is mounted and secured upon the ends of certain of the ties and pivotally mounted upon this bar or plate, as at 48, are bell crank levers L9 and 50 to which the ends of the bars or rods 20 are operatively connected. An actuating rod 51 (which is operatively connected at 52 to a switch throwing mechanism not shown) is connected at 53 to the bell crank levers to cause them to move in unison. The switch operating mechanism (not shown) is, in turn, connected by a rod 54 with the usual switch points 55.

The frog rail operates simultaneously with. the movement of the switch points. When the switch points are moved to permit the wheels of the rolling stock to travel on the main rails, the frog rail 11 is in alining register with the main rail sections. When the switch points 55 are moved in engagement with the siding rails, to switch the rolling stock on the siding, the frog rail may move simultaneously therewith to assume an alining register with the Siding rail sections, as in Figure 3.

It will be noted that the arcuate slots 30 are of sufiicient width or properly pro portioned to permit of lateral play of the cam lugs and to allow the reciprocating be rs to move without binding It is obvious that should these cam lugs closely fit the opposite walls of the slots 30, it will be impossible to move the bars due to the binding action upon the walls of the slots The invention having been set forth, what is claimed is:

l, A monorail frog for actuation simul taneously with a switch point including a fuicrumed i'rog rail, a supporting base therefor, siding'and main rail sections with whichthe frog railis adapted to register,

locking means operatively pivoted upon the oppositesides of the frog rail at its oppo site ends, abutments on the supporting base with which certain oftlie diagonally oppo-- site locking means engage for holding the frog rail in alining register with either the siding rail sections or the main rail sections, and means for raising the locking means out of engagement with the abutmeni's whereby the frog rail may be moved 2. A monorail frog for actuation simul-f taneously with a switch point including a;

means out of engagement with the abut-- ments and including means for moving the frog rail. V

3. In. a monorail frog for actuation simultaneously with a' switch point including a 'frog rail disposed at the intersection of the siding and main track rails for fulcruming movement in a horizontal plane into alining relation alternately with said rails, locks pivotally and operatively supported on opposite sides of each end of the frog rail, a supporting base for the frog rail, abutments with certain of which certain diagonally opposite locks engage for locking the frog rail against movement in one direction, means for holding the, frog rail against movement in the opposite olinection, and means for tilting the locks upwardly to free them from engagement with the abutments whereby the frog rail may be moved. i

et. In a monorail frog for actuation simultaneously with a'switch point including a frog rail disposed at the intersection of the siding and main track rails for fulcruming movement in a horizontal vplane into alining relation alternately with said rails, locks pivotally and operatively supported on opposite sides of each end of the frog rail, a supporting base for the frog rail abut-ments with certain of which cers tain dia' 'onall o oosite locks en a e for s y g e nally opposite. looks out of engagement with, their abutments to permit the frog.

rail to be moved.

5. Ina monorail, frog for act-nation simultaneously with a switch point including a frog rail disposed at the intersection of the siding and the main track rails for fulcrum ing; movement. in a horizontal plane into dining relation alternately with said rails, a cradle for the support of the frog rail, gravity actuated locking devices pivotally and operatively supported upon opposite sides of: the frog rail at its opposite ends, abut-ments on the cradle with certain of which certain dia'gg'onally opposite locking devices engage for locking the frog rail against movement in one direction, means for preventing movement of the frog rail in the opposite direction, said pivotally and operatively supporting means for the locking devices including chairs carried by the frog rail, and reciprocating members opera tively connected to the chairs for in ovinp; the frog rail upon its fulcrum and provided with means to ram against the locking devices totilt them out of engagement With their abutments prior to imparting move ment to the frog rail.

6. In'a'monorail. frog for actuation simultaneonslv with a switch point including a frograil disposed at the intersection of the siding and the main track rails for fulcrum-- ing movement in a horizontal plane into alining relation alt'ernatelywith said rails a cradle for the support ofthe frog rail,

gravity. actuated locking devices pivotally and operatively supported upon opposite sides of the frog rail at its oppositeends. abutments onthe cradle \vithcertain of which.

certain diagonally opposite locking devices engage for locking the frog rail against movement in one CllI'GQilO Il means for preventing movement of the frog rail in the opposite direction, said pivotally and operatively supporting means for the locking devices including chairs carried by the frog rail, and reciprocating members provided with slot and roller connections with the chairs, there-by permitting themembers' to move slightly for imparting movement to the frog rail, said reciprocating members having cams adapted tocam against and, tilt certain diagonally opposite locking devices out of engagement with the abutments' prior to permitting the frog Tail to-move,

the ends of said slots cooperating; with the rollers subsequently to tilting the looking devices and thereby constituting means for. moving the frog rail.

In'testimony whereof he aflixeshis signa ture. 7

WILLIAM SCHWIER: 

